Fingers on the buzzer! The <i>IoS</i> bumper Boxing Day quiz of 2010

Who could forget Gaga's gory frock, the X Factor talent, or spring's very strange political liaison (and we don't mean the coalition). Matthew Bell tests your knowledge of the news, people and stinging insults that make the past 12 months a time to remember. (Answers at the bottom of the page)

(Getty Images)

People

A. What first was 22-year-old Kenyan maid Margaret Lekartgi able to claim?

B. Who was described as "bang on trend" for wearing red Prada shoes to meet the Queen?

C. For which summer celebrity wedding did we have Pedro Almodovar to thank?

D. Lady Gaga grabbed headlines for wearing a meat dress at the MTV Awards. But it's a little-known fact that she was given a salad bikini afterwards. True or false?

E. Who is accused of punching Oksana Grigorieva in the face?

Politics

A. What was the first thing Alan Johnson planned to do as Shadow Chancellor?

B. "I'm afraid to tell you there's no money left. Good luck!" Who wrote this memo, and who found it?

C. What happened in the Moët & Chandon room at the Hotel du Vin in Birmingham on 29 April?

D. "You seem to be a bit dim, if you don't mind me saying." Who said that to whom?

E. Whose election campaign nose-dived at Hinton-in-the-Hedges, Northamptonshire?

Deaths

Of the people who died in 2010, who:

A. Claimed to have written obscenities in the lining of Prince Charles's suits?

B. Was wiped out in "the most tragic event in that [European] country's post-war history"?

C. Drew literary inspiration from working in a bottle factory?

D. Left his son "a bank of memories that can never be exhausted"?

E. Was born in Sydney and died in Switzerland, but had an Italian nickname?

TV

A. Which Leipzig-born composer enjoyed a dubious reincarnation?

B. McFly were the last band ever to play on which TV programme on 4 September?

C. Which real-life lord tried to buy the stately-home location for Downton Abbey in the summer?

D. What reality of British life interrupted Big Brother on Day 70?

E. How did heiress Georgiana Bronfman's husband displease her?

News

A. What was destroyed in seven hours on 5 October?

B. Commander Andy Coles was not astute enough to keep his position. What was his mistake?

C. Which former member of the Birmingham Bach Choir was branded "worse than Hitler", and why?

D. To whom did Paul Gascoigne give a can of lager, a phone, and some chicken?

E. "It has been the worst year, the worst in my life ever." Which fevered celebrity said this?

Sport

A. These four countries made it to the World Cup semi-finals. Put them in the correct order on the podium: Germany, Netherlands, Uruguay, Spain.

B. Which horse won the Cheltenham Gold Cup: Kauto Star, Denman, or Imperial Commander?

C. Serena Williams won the Wimbledon women's singles. How many times has she won it before?

D. Who retired from professional cricket on 16 September, aged 32?

E. What did Boris Becker, Joe Cole and Paula Radcliffe all do this year?

IoS stories

A. We revealed Val Hudson to be the author of which surprise best-selling memoir?

B. Who said: "All we get is this permanent negative nit-picking from the left. Why is it that it's The Independent on Sunday ringing me up about this? You just want to say – relax!"

C. Who was accused of being "snobbish, vain, and obsessed with penises"?

D. It sold for £9m, but Brian Sewell described it as "an uncomfortable Rubens" that "didn't quite ring true". Whose family heirloom was this painting?

E. "I was a student once as well. It's great going on demos and really having a crack at the government of the day." Who said this?

Predictions of the year

True or false? Which of these predictions were made in 2010?

A. "This winter could be unusually mild and dry, with temperatures at least 2C higher than last year's big freeze." The Met Office.

B. "England to win the World Cup." JP Morgan analysts

C. "I predict that David Cameron... will fail to form a government... and will never become prime minister." James Macintyre, the political correspondent of the New Statesman.

D. "I do have a prediction and it is that David Miliband will win." Nick Robinson, BBC political editor.

E. "Prince William will announce his engagement in November, for a wedding the following spring." Tina Brown, the former editor of Tatler.

What links the following?

A. Shrien Dewani

B. Vanessa Perroncel

C. Ricky Hatton

D. Andy Coulson

Numbers round

Match the figure to the statement:

A. 12

B. 14

C. 52

D. 104

E. 195

1. Millions paid for a Chinese Ming vase at Bainbridges auction house in Ruislip.

2. Billions paid in Kraft takeover of Cadbury.

3. Number of staff dismissed by the Beckhams this year in cutbacks.

4. Millions spent on Bloody Sunday inquiry.

5. Millions paid by Richard Desmond for channel Five.

Quiz of the Year 2010: The Answers

People A. As Prince William and Kate Middleton's maid in Kenya, she was the first member of the public to learn of their engagement. It would be a month before the rest of the world, including the Queen, found out. B. Pope Benedict XVI. C. Penelope Cruz and Javier Bardem – they first met on the set of Jamon Jamon in 1992. D. True. It was presented to her on the Ellen DeGeneres Show later that evening. E. Mel Gibson, her ex-boyfriend, with whom she split this year.

Politics A. "Buy an economics primer." B. Outgoing Treasury Secretary Liam Byrne. It was found by his successor, David Laws. C. William Hague spent the night with his special adviser, Chris Myers. D. Labour MP Chris Bryant to Sky News presenter Kay Burley. E. Ukip leader Nigel Farage, who survived a crash in a light aircraft.

Deaths A. Alexander McQueen. B. Polish president Lech Kaczynski and dozens of senior Polish officials died in a plane crash in Russia. C. Beryl Bainbridge, the Booker-nominated author who wrote The Bottle Factory Outing. D. Ian Cameron, the Prime Minister's father. E. Soprano Dame Joan Sutherland, aka La Stupenda.

TV A. Wagner, the flamboyant X Factor contestant of questionable talent, became more famous than his namesake, composer of The Ring Cycle. B. GMTV, which was replaced by Daybreak, hosted by Adrian Chiles and Christine Bleakley. C. Andrew Lloyd Webber asked the Earl of Carnarvon if he would sell his ancestral home, Highclere Castle, near Newbury, Berkshire. The offer was flatly rejected. D. A flash flood forced Channel 4 producers to evacuate the Big Brother house. E. Nigel Havers agreed to take part in I'm A Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here, against his wife's wishes. She promptly fled to Kenya to avoid the embarrassment.

News A. Hastings Pier, in a fire. B. The captain of the world's most advanced nuclear submarine, the £1.2bn HMS Astute, ran it aground off the Isle of Skye. C. Mary Bale became an internet hate figure after being caught on CCTV picking up Lola the cat, dumping her in a wheelie bin, and walking off. D. Raoul Moat, the gunman on the run in Rothbury, a former friend of Gazza. E. Cheryl Cole, who caught malaria and split from her husband, the footballer Ashley Cole.

Sport A. Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Uruguay. B. Imperial Commander, though it had been tipped as a two-horse race between Denman and Kauto Star. C. Three, making it her fourth victory. D. Freddie Flintoff. E. Have children: Becker's fourth, Cole's first and Radcliffe's second.

IoS stories A. A Simples Life: The Life and Times of Aleksandr Orlov, a fictional Russian meerkat. B. Julian Fellowes, fending off accusations of plagiarism in his script of Downton Abbey. C. Rachel Johnson, editor of The Lady, by the magazine's owner, Julia Budworth. D. Charles Spencer. E. Nick Clegg.

Predictions of the year They were all genuine, if plain wrong, predictions, except E. Tina Brown correctly predicted a royal engagement, but her timing was out – she said there would be a June announcement followed by a wedding in November 2010.

What links the following? They were all clients of the publicist Max Clifford this year, except ex-News of the World editor Andy Coulson. The paper paid Clifford a reported £1m not to go to court over allegations that it had hacked his phone.

Numbers round A. 2; B. 3; C. 1; D. 5; and E. 4.